ES2826564T3 - Control for lighting of buildings and other domestic technical installations - Google Patents

Abstract

Building lighting control with a switch module that can be arranged next to a door, which can be connected to the lighting network to control lighting depending on the actuation of the switch, presents an interface for a door sensor to detect a door status and is configured to differentiate different actuation modes, and control the lighting depending on the door status, characterized in that a memory is present, in which responses of the lighting control to different switch actuation modes are stored to a series of differentiable door states, detected with the at least one sensor, being stored, for at least one identified switch actuation mode, a lighting control response that is different, in a first door state, to the response in a second gate state.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Control for lighting of buildings and other domestic technical installations

The present invention refers to what is claimed in the heading and, therefore, to the control in general of installations in buildings.

Modern buildings, such as residential buildings, office buildings, and public buildings such as conference centers, concert halls, etc., have a number of different domestic technical installations, among which are ventilation installations. , heating, cooling, fresh air supply, Venetian blinds or roller blinds, controllable light sources, for example regarding the on and off status, brightness and color temperature, space sound installations, etc. . While some of these installations are generally used only in public buildings, e.g. conference halls, concert halls, etc., or in offices, a number of controllable domestic technical installations themselves are also present in private buildings, such as single or multi-family homes for private use. In this case, it should also be mentioned that eventually other domestic technical installations, such as photovoltaic installations, solar thermal energy installations, etc., are monitored and / or must be adjusted, although this is only necessary on rare occasions.

It is possible per se to control all devices and systems separately using individual switches or connection boards, but this has its drawbacks, because not only is the wiring effort high and handling is cumbersome and difficult to automate, if necessary, but also also because a user might want to make changes eventually when making use of the building.

It has been proposed to interconnect the facilities and thus facilitate management. For the control, for example, of the facilities available in a given space, such as light, heating and venetian blinds, a single switch located near the door can be used, by means of which all the appliances are controlled simultaneously. However, adaptations to facility changes are costly as well. Different switches, such as on / off pushbuttons, rocker switches, etc., are often required to control, for example, different installations, which may require replacement if usage is varied.

Document DE102012224396A1 has addressed the problem of the possibility of being able to adapt in various ways, with a reduced effort, an interaction device, for example a switching module, for a building infrastructure. To this end, document DE102012224396A1 proposes an interaction device for the infrastructure of a building that comprises a base device and an attachment mountable on the base device, the attachment comprising at least one interaction element and a communication means in the side of attachment; the base apparatus comprising a communication means on the base side; the at least one interaction element being able to be controlled with the aid of the communication means on the base side; being able to transmit with the aid of the communication means on the side of the attachment a coded description of parameters of the at least one interaction device to the base device; and the base apparatus being configured and / or adapted to adapt control of the interaction element by means of the transmitted encoded description of the parameters of the interaction element. In this case it is indicated that the attachments can be differentiated with respect to the optics and the reliability of the influencing parameters, for example, the number of colors of a screen in the attachment, the resolution, the brightness and the contrast, the display technology (LED, LCD, elnk), security against vandalism, resistance against cleaning and disinfection products. Likewise, the screen accessories must be able to be differentiated with respect to the handling possibilities, for example, the size and shape factor of the screen area, the touch sensitivity of the screen (none, touch screen, multi-touch); the number, position and type of keys, buttons, knobs, sliders, other keyboards; other output possibilities, eg acoustic (buzzes, beeps, bells, warning sounds); sensor system for interaction, eg, approach or motion sensors; sensor system for building control, eg brightness or temperature sensor. It is being analyzed the fact that by means of a simple assembly and disassembly, without tools, of a screen attachment in situ with the maintenance of the base unit in the flush-mounted box, the handling possibilities can be easily modified on the spot, both in terms of relation to operation as well as design.

However, experience shows that despite possibly superior user comfort, acceptance of complex domestic technical installations remains low. It would then be desirable to increase the acceptance of controls for building technology by improving the ease of use and the possibility of economical use of the individual components.

Document DE102012003873A1 should also be mentioned, which describes a procedure for managing a home automation system, a control computer for a home automation system, as well as a home automation system, in which is particularly simple to integrate a home appliance into the programming. For this purpose, an identification of a household appliance is received that characterizes the type of appliance. Next, parameter options adapted to the type of apparatus are received for an adjustment of sensors and / or actuators of the home automation system and they are indicated to a user for selection on a user surface. In this sense it is also proposed that the parameter options include at least one adjustment profile for a coordinated adjustment of a plurality of sensors and / or actuators. It will not be enough to program just one actuator or one sensor. It will be necessary to map sensors and actuators to each other and determine corresponding event-controlled actions, which could be contained in a setting profile. Coordinated settings could be both the connection of sensors to actuators and the connection to event-controlled actions and regulations. The fit profile could also be a scene.

A sensor according to DE102012003873A1 can be, for example, a switch, a motion sensor, a push button, a door contact, a thermostat, a window contact, an image sensor, a brightness sensor, a temperature sensor , a binary sensor, a microphone or other device for the detection of environmental changes. An actuator can be in particular a relay, a valve, a motor, a servomotor, a light regulator, a roller shutter control, a switch, a signaling device, an infrared signaling device, an acoustic signaling device, a control part, a information terminal or other apparatus for the execution of switching operations, control operations, regulation operations or other actions and / or for the output of information and states. In this case, it is mentioned that the configuration of a "Smart Home controller" can be done, for example, on a private personal computer or through a mobile phone, the mobile phone must be connected to the Internet through a gateway. (gateway) and must be able to establish a connection with the central management unit through the gateway.

From document DE10230067A1 a procedure is known for the automatic control of electrical appliances that are in spaces with entry doors that can be closed, for example, a home or a laboratory, which includes the connection and disconnection of electrical appliances that are located in the space, the power supply to electrical appliances in the space being automatically stopped when the space door is closed from the outside.

The aim of the present invention is to provide something novel for commercial use.

The solution to this objective is independently claimed. Preferred embodiments appear from the subclaims.

A first essential ideal then consists in that a lighting control for a building with a switch module, arranged next to a door and connected to the lighting network, to control the lighting depending on the actuation of a switch is provided with an interface dedicated for a door sensor, the switching module also being configured to detect the door status and control the lighting depending on the door status. For the detection or the response to the detection, at least one digital circuit is provided that can adopt one of several states, preferably one of more than two states, in response to the signals detected with the sensor through the interface assigned to it (and used just for the same at least for very long periods of time).

The sensors, which determine the door status, can be provided in particular to detect the door lock status, that is, to determine whether the door is locked or unlocked. The closing status can be determined, that is, it can be checked whether the door is open or closed for passage. The sensors can also determine if a door handle is actuated or if movements are detected. If necessary, movement sensors or light barriers can also be provided, which can often be arranged without problems in the recess of the door, so that the sensors are hardly noticeable. The sensors can be capacitive or magnetic or can work with ultrasound signals. Although the use of sensors connected to the switch module by cables is preferred, the configuration of the arrangement, according to the invention, with a wireless sensor would also be possible per se.

It should be mentioned that the switching module can also preferably activate, in addition to light, various domestic technical installations that may comprise, for example, several elements of the group consisting of roller blinds, Venetian blinds, light, luminosity, light color , heating, ventilation, air conditioning, door opening / door closing.

When we speak here that the sensor interface is used only by the sensor at least for very long periods of time, this means that the interface is used only for one or more sensors that directly detect the door status and that are local, that is, they are assigned to the doors of the space or the access of the space, in which the switch is located, which is easily achieved in case of a wired connection, or it means that an interface is present for a wireless connection of the sensor which is used at least in general only for door sensors, that is, in particular if no configuration operation is carried out. In this case, for example, a connection via Bluetooth to a sensor can be created and, by means of this connection via Bluetooth, communication with other devices to configure the switch or other devices of the domestic technical installation can in any case be allowed. In such a case, the interface is used per se only for the door sensor (s) for very long periods of time, specifically those periods of time, during which no (new) configuration is performed. It should be mentioned that the energy for this type of connection can be obtained on the side of the door, for example, by means of buzzer connections, as is usual in domestic doors, by means of batteries or from a movement of the door leaf, lever, etc.

For the use of wired sensors, which normally supply analog signals to the switching module, small cable lengths are required in any case, so that the corresponding use is not critical. This is also true, because the placement is generally carried out transversely, normally perpendicular to a path of the electrical line of the lighting network, which minimizes inductive dispersions.

An analog-to-digital converter, optionally with corresponding signal conditioning, can be assigned to the interface input of the switching module for detecting analog sensor signals. However, it is normally sufficient to differentiate a binary status, eg open / closed, locked / unlocked, immobile / movable. If signal conditioning is performed, it can be designed based on the typical signal characteristics of a specific sensor, such as a magnetic contact sensor, a capacitive sensor, light barriers, ultrasonic sensors, contact sensors. electric, etc.

It has been found that the evaluation (even) of the local door status allows to significantly increase the functionality of the lighting control. Such an evaluation of the door condition is simple, because the switching modules, in particular the dimming modules to be used here preferably, are often arranged directly next to a door so that a user of the building, for example the inhabitant of a home, can turn on the light if necessary when entering a space through the door of the room or can turn off the light when leaving the space, preferably in this case of the door, whose state is detected.

The proximity of the switching module to the door, which is normally arranged in a flush-mounted box, enables the installation of the invention with only a small constructive effort, even at that point, where the door status must be detected with a sensor. connected by a power line. In general, a hole with a depth of 10-20 cm from the door to the light switch or flush-mounted box provided for this is generally sufficient. This hole is possible without problems, even if a door frame has been installed, because a narrow hole can easily be drilled through the frame to achieve a less conspicuous installation, if necessary, by means of the recess, against which the door collides. in the closed state. In addition, the power supply to the sensors remains extremely simple, because the power can be obtained from the switch connected to the lighting network.

The fact that the lighting control refers not only to the actuation of the switch, but at the same time also to the door status, allows a significant increase in functionality precisely in the private residential sector. The interface, present directly on the dimming or switching module, also significantly facilitates the installation of the arrangement.

When it comes to increasing the functionality, it is easy and preferred to determine by detecting the door status statistic or the switching module actuation statistic whether a switch or a door was actuated for too long a period of time. In the case of dependent people, for example people with poor health or a certain dementia, it can be determined through this history if a person is eventually in danger and the intervention of a third party is necessary.

On the basis of the door status detection, the light can also be switched on or off directly when entering a space, if previously defined by a switch actuation. This allows the light to be switched on automatically, for example in places where the user often does not have his hands free to switch on the light, because he is carrying food, for example, when accessing a pantry. This is significantly more comfortable for the user than if you had to place the load first, and there is no problem of having to detect the field of motion with motion sensors that are often less attractive. With a brief actuation of a switch, it is also possible without any problem to set the light to switch off when the door is subsequently opened. This may be convenient in a space, where children are playing, as children often do not turn off the lights safely. Likewise, in such a case there are no problems normally associated with the installation of motion sensors in spaces, for example, the disconnection of the lighting when people are still seated in the space.

It should be mentioned that the lighting does not have to be controlled exclusively with respect to the current state of the door, but that it can also be considered a usual temporal development of the state of the door and / or they can be used, in addition to the state of the door and the actuation of the switch, other parameters to determine how to respond to a respective actuation of the switch module when a specific door state exists. Thus, for example, a response may be different in the dark than in the light or during the day than at night.

Obviously, an answer may refer, for example, to statistical data on previous use. To make this possible, a memory can be present in order to store certain behavior patterns, in which the number of door actuations, light switches, Venetian blinds, etc. can be counted, separated according to the day of the week and , if necessary, according to the hour of the day divided into a quarter of an hour or by hours, that is to say, by intervals. A given response may be different depending on the time of day and day of the week or, if other sensor values are stored, depending on the incidence of daylight, temperature, the closed state of the doors in other spaces or windows, etc. A switch actuation history can be stored with the recording of the respective sensor values and said history can be evaluated later or a corresponding count value started immediately after a switch actuation, a value field of count featuring separate switch actuation counters for any possible sensor value combination or any possible combination of sensor value ranges. If, by means of the stored data, it is subsequently verified with a high degree of sufficient probability that a certain user always lowers the blinds in hours of bright light and high temperatures, but does not connect the heating or light, by means of a switch that can be optionally used to control different appliances in the domestic technical installation, the switch can be configured from the beginning when such a situation occurs. It is then proposed, among others, that a multifunctional switch be configured for highly probable actuations according to the history of previous use, possibly as a self-taught switch. It should also be mentioned that since there are a plurality of different sensors, a typical response can be determined from several possible responses with fuzzy logic.

For the rest, it is not mandatory to detect only the door status of those doors, in which the switching module is arranged. In fact, in complex installations it may be advantageous to detect the door status of the plurality of doors and control the lighting depending on the door status and thus evaluate a door status not only of those doors, in which it is arranged. the switch module. Thus, for example, by evaluating the door closing behavior of several doors, it can be decided with greater security if the person inside a house moves normally from one room to the other or if they perhaps need help, since this does not it occurred over a long period of time.

In general, there are also doors, such as a front door to the house, that do not normally open at certain times, for example, during the usual sleeping hours of the inhabitants. If this were to occur anyway, an alarm would need to be triggered. This can occur, for example, in the room, in which the inhabitant is currently, for example, the bedroom.

If the domestic technical installation is used for alarm activation, a false alarm can also be prevented, if necessary, by evaluating the states of several doors or the time sequence of state changes of several doors. It can be determined, for example, in a learning phase, that during normal operation a certain sequence of actuated doors is fulfilled after entering a house at night, for example, entrance door to the house-bathroom door -bedroom door. It is also possible to detect the time that a user spends in certain spaces. If after a learning phase a certain pattern is identified, false alarms can be better avoided. Therefore, if another inhabitant opens the door of the house and follows the usual and known sequence of door openings, a false alarm is avoided, while a thief, who opens the door of the house, would attract the attention of the system, because It would not fulfill such a typical sequence with intervals, in which it should open, as expected, the following determined doors, but would follow another pattern of movement. The evaluation of the gate states then also serves to identify the movement pattern, which is also advantageous for monitoring purposes.

It should be mentioned that it is also possible to operate a corresponding installation in a rigorous way, that is, with lower tolerance thresholds for a different behavior, or in a less rigorous way, that is, with the approval of greater variations in user behavior, or to tolerate certain patterns as admissible. This has the advantage of avoiding false alarms.

In the case of use for security purposes, a leak response can also be provided by an intruder. Thus, for example, in the entire apartment or in an entire house, each light or a plurality of lights can be turned on, if a condition is detected that indicates the entry of unauthorized third parties. This will frighten, on the one hand, intruders, who will usually run away, and will also indicate to the inhabitants the existence of a danger. Other possibilities consist not only in turning on the light if necessary, but also in activating surveillance systems, such as audio and / or video systems or in creating access for third parties to the video and / or audio system, so that they have a possibility of surveillance in the presence of a supposed alarm condition, without violating privacy in normal situations.

It should be mentioned that a leak can be caused rather, if necessary, by following a certain sequence. For example, an individual LED on a switch may blink first; then, for example, all one-color LEDs on the switch can flash, preferably with the execution of a sequence of colors, such as green-yellow-red. Even with a small number of LEDs on the switch, for example 3 to 5 LEDs, this is so striking that in the event of real false alarms, the authorized user often deactivates the alarm and, on the other hand, a intruder realizes in the dark that his presence has been detected. Naturally, it is even more striking that several dozen LEDs, for example 40, flash at the same time, particularly in the dark at a highly visible point, where switches are generally mounted.

Giving an intruder the chance to escape in the dark helps prevent inhabitants from suffering very dangerous physical assaults, triggered by panic. It should be mentioned that, however, the cameras suitable for recording in the dark, etc., and possibly also the sources of infrared lights assigned to them, can be activated in time. Likewise, alarm signals can be sent to alarm centers of surveillance services or the like or the display of corresponding videos can be activated on personal computers that are momentarily operated on a local network.

The individual lights can then be switched on, until finally good illumination of a danger area has been achieved.

Furthermore, where a current or previous theft is indicated by the switch, it is also possible to display how long ago this event occurred. This can be done, for example, by flashing times of different duration, driving a different number of LEDs in the switch, displaying determined patterns with individual LEDs.

Conventional dimmers are also available that gradually vary the brightness of a light source or make an on or off by pressing twice briefly. In general, the switching module of the present invention is also capable of differentiating between different drives, taking into account that a use as a light regulator is considered in particular. In this sense, not only a short double press is preferably differentiated from a long press of a rocker key, but also a repeated press, no action for a certain interval or at a certain time, firm / soft pressure and / or gestures in when using touch-sensitive and position-sensitive actuation fields. Gesture differentiation will be discussed separately below. This is particularly advantageous. It is clear that at least two of the above-mentioned drive modes can be differentiated, but it is preferred to be able to make a pairwise differentiation of all or at least several of the mentioned drive types. It should be mentioned that with proper evaluation it is even possible that children's play with the switch has no effect. It is also possible to provide double rocker buttons and to detect by means of them more than one deviation in order to differentiate a firm pressure from a soft pressure. Such a control ensures a wide application through the use of gate status signals. Mention should be made of the possibility of outputting a signal, eg morse type, with rocker switches, which may be advantageous for service purposes, although other service possibilities are highly preferred, as explained below.

In a normal lighting control of a building a memory is preferably present according to the invention, in which responses of the lighting control to different switch actuations are stored for a series of differentiable door states, detected with at least one sensor, of such that, for at least one identified switch actuation, a lighting control response is stored in a first state different from the response to the same switch actuation in a second door state different from the first door state, preferably at minus a stored response an alarm response or an alarm disablement allowed at least temporarily.

There is preferably a memory, in which the response to a switch actuation depending on different door states is stored and in which responses are also stored depending on, for example, a time of day or a day. of the week. Provision of a suitable memory directly on the switch module or dimming module is preferred. This makes it possible to foresee a local use of the switching module, even if a connection with a central unit present per se cannot be established momentarily, for example, because communication was interrupted or the central unit is not active. The memory sizes required are so small that their price is negligible, even if other data is stored in the switch module.

It is advantageous that in a lighting control for a building a memory switch module is configured to store in memory the data that is received from a central unit and defines a nominal response of the switch module in response to at least one state of a given door, a given change of the door status and / or its actuation mode, preferably define a nominal response that also depends on the development of communication with the central unit or on the possibility of communication with it and / or is configured to transmit data to the central unit. Therefore, the switch module can preferably be configured by a central station.

In the preferred case, the switch module is also capable of differentiating between optionally giving an autarkic response to a switch actuation, that is, responding only locally to the actuation, or a response relative to the other environment, for example, by considering states of further doors, room sensors, etc. For this purpose, it can be checked whether the central unit can respond or not.

If the central unit cannot respond, for example because it has to be rebooted, was sabotaged or has been disconnected from the network for other reasons, it is preferably queried if other comparable switch modules can be accessed and if they can then be asked by such gate states and the like or if the communication of a given switch module with other switch modules has been interrupted per se, which can occur, for example, when a local interface in the switch module breaks down. In this way, an optimized or improved emergency mode can be achieved, without a control panel, which is also possible because the switching module directly connects the luminous flux power locally to at least one light source in the flush-mounted box, such as a conventional mechanical switch. The arrangement according to the invention is thus particularly safe against failure, because an emergency mode can be implemented very easily.

For the rest, it should be mentioned that a master emergency function can be provided in switch modules for manageable installations so that a switch module can assume the full function of a central unit or at least implement partial functions of a central unit. master, if a central unit cannot respond. It is clear that a switch module can take on the role very well in places where the central unit is used only for data communication and does not have to take on special switching tasks and where at the same time the load workload on the central unit is not too high. In this sense, it is advantageous that data communication is carried out through the lighting network and that said communication is generally so slow that even the frequent connection or disconnection of parasitic sources such as electric motors and / or the presence of several safety relays does not they affect the communication between the switch modules that (also) use the lighting network as a bus. With the advancement of microintegration, only slightly higher computing powers and slightly more storage space are needed for this purpose of implementing master functions. Neither case represents an obstacle for a system with a high security against failure, taking into account the advances in microelectronics. This considerably increases operational safety.

If necessary, a selection can be made between different switch modules that are equal per se and capable of assuming the role of master by arbitration and / or by checking the signal propagation times with respect to all other switch modules, for example, by "PING query" or by determining received signal strengths from other stations, to ensure that a comparatively central switch module is used for replacement purposes. Alternatively, the role of master can be assumed by that switch module that has been the first to verify the prolonged absence of communication with a previous master station and / or understands the most current and / or complete data on the entire installation or a local area. It should be mentioned that this definition is made, if necessary, only after negotiating or consulting all the other stations to prevent a purely local problem causing the creation of a new and possibly double master in a zone. It should be mentioned that security against external interference and in the event of an alarm is increased, because different switching modules can take over the role of master.

Considering the fact that a switching module must assume, if necessary, tasks of a central unit, it will be advantageous that the communication channels, existing between the different parts, of a domestic technical installation are used, in general, only to a lesser extent. In this way it is possible to transmit a control program and / or corresponding operating parameters of an entire system without any disadvantage regarding, for example, the response time behavior, because the times until the failure of the central unit will regularly be very long, for This means that large amounts of data can be transmitted even in the case of very slow communication channels.

Furthermore, it is advantageous if, in building lighting control, the switching module for communication with the central unit has a data interface for data transmission via the network. illumination with a data transmission frequency higher than that of the alternating frequency of luminous flux and is preferably configured for the transmission of encrypted data.

Two-wire communication via the lighting network can then be used without problems for data communication. The lighting network will have alternating current frequencies of 50 to 60 Hz depending on the country. The data signals modulated to the power lines will easily have, without this interfering, a multiple of this frequency, so that it can work, for example, with 1440 to 9600 baud. This is sufficient without any problem for the transmission of switch signals, sensor signals, etc., as well as for the transmission mentioned above of programs, program parameters and, if necessary, signals from outside, for example signals recorded on a door intercom or, if necessary, also audio / video signals. The data transmission rate is a multiple, usually more than one tenth of the frequency of the alternating luminous flux. It is also possible to communicate in an encrypted manner via this data interface, which is particularly advantageous in multi-family dwellings due to the danger of eavesdropping on data.

It should be mentioned that the lighting network preferably serves as a bus, that is, all the switching modules are listening per se. Since, in general, only a short communication on the bus is needed to transmit certain signals, the risk of collision of the sent data is low even in complex systems despite the very low transmission rate. On the other hand, with conventional means, a repetition without collision can be achieved with respect to a collision that has occurred, that is, if several transmitters have simultaneously responded to the bus.

It should be mentioned that individual switch modules can, however, be addressed by a control panel, a sensor, an actuator, for example for feedback, or another switch module. It may also be envisaged to reserve the bus system for specific times, for example, the first 700 ms of every second, for a specific communication and to allow all participants to use the bus only in the remaining time so that certain participants can communicate. each other temporarily with a higher data rate. Since conventional switch modules can be easily synchronized and have a clock or timer, which is preferred, and the reserve proposed by way of example is hardly noticeable due to the signal delay, they can be transmitted more quickly in case Larger amounts of data are required at certain points, which can be advantageous if a mobile user terminal coupled to a local switching module must communicate with the central unit via its data connection to the central unit which is per se relatively slow.

It should also be mentioned that through the data interface control signals must also be provided for the activation of an alarm or the deactivation in response to a numerical field actuation or for the establishment of an audio / video data connection to a station. of communication provided outside the building, such as an intercom, which is sufficient also in case of small channel bandwidths, for example 10 kHz.

If necessary, a communication with the outside can also be established, for example via a GSM module, a UMTS module and / or an Internet connection created only in the event of an alarm. This occurs preferably in a few modules and / or a central.

The lighting control preferably has a switching module also configured to, in addition to turning on / off an individual light source, attenuating the brightness of at least one light source and / or controlling at least one and preferably several of the following elements : intercom, sound, in particular a sound recorded in an intercom and / or a voice intended to provide assistance, doorbell, alarm tone, various sources of ambient light of a group, either individually or jointly, depending on the status, and / or LEDs or other lighting means that are present in the switching module to activate, if necessary, an alarm, as already analyzed, also in a successive sequence and in particular, for example, in the mentioned sequence and which are available in particular successively in different colors and quantities and / or, which flash permanently first and then, if necessary, with different cycles, video, various ambient light sources, preferably all light sources at a visible point, more preferably all light sources in a house, alarm tone, remote alarm activation.

By mounting a small loudspeaker, for example, a door opener station can be implemented in each space and additionally an intercom, if a microphone is provided. Both the selected loudspeaker and microphone can be inexpensive and small, since particularly large loudspeakers are not required as buzzers or doorbell loudspeakers are provided locally.

From the above it is clear that the switching module can be configured, if necessary, to control, in addition to a single light source, at least one, preferably several of the elements following: an acoustic transducer, in particular to reproduce the alarm sound, the voice recorded at a remote station, the generation of a bell signal and / or many other light sources, preferably all light sources at a visible point and / or all light sources in a building.

It should be mentioned that the switch can be used, if necessary, depending on predefined states, in such a way that all the light sources in a space or all the light sources of a certain group can be connected or a control is provided from just a single light source. It is particularly advantageous that bell signals only have to be transmitted at certain points, if a door bell module is also configured to identify certain gestures or a certain actuation behavior. Thus, for example, parents can receive doorbell signals at night only in the living room, without the children, who sleep peacefully, wake up due to the switch modules that emit doorbell signals in the hall.

It is clear that not only functionality needs to be improved, but also simple handling and configuration is particularly desired. Handling a more complex installation can be facilitated per se, if user handling gestures are allowed, such as those known to the user from smartphones and the like. This is not mandatory, but it is advantageous. In this sense, it is not mandatory to provide a smartphone on each switch, nor a touch screen on each switch. This would be quite expensive, reducing the number of switches in a space and this in turn reducing comfort.

Therefore, in a preferred aspect of the invention, a high number and a high density of switches can be provided in a building without great additional costs, as is known per se from conventional electrical installations, by using a special switch module. This switch module is considered advantageous in itself and reserves the right to claim such a switch module or such keyboard with corresponding controller, regardless of its preferred connection to a lighting control, and give it patent protection.

Therefore, in this particularly preferred embodiment use is made of a keyboard which in combination with the invention offers special advantages, but which can also be used independently of domestic technical installations and is considered novel separately and with its advantageous and preferred embodiments. A keyboard according to this aspect of the invention may be configured with a plurality of actuation keys and a controller to respond to the actuation of the keys, the controller also being configured to identify whether the actuation keys were actuated simultaneously or very closely. then in a certain sequence or for a certain time and / or in a certain way and if the keys operated in this way belong to a predefined group, and to change the future response to a key operation in response to the identification.

With a little effort, operability comparable to that of smartphones is then achieved, so that particularly intuitive operation is possible.

It should be noted that a keyboard "key" does not necessarily have to be a push button or a short stroke key that could protrude from the plane of the keyboard, but instead can also be implemented by means of a sensitive area, clearly delimited, of a membrane keyboard. Such actuation field is also identified in the present case as "key". A membrane keyboard makes gesture control more pleasant. The membrane keyboard does not necessarily have to have a membrane surface. A particularly preferred possibility of implementing a gesture identification keyboard consists in the use of a thin glass disk, behind which is arranged a membrane formed, for its part, as a tactile membrane or with several differentiable surfaces, sensitive to the touch. If the glass disk has a white base, is matte or is formed as an opaque glass disk, an attractive, non-sensitive, and easy and convenient to operate and clean switch is achieved that can be mounted flush with the wall or without protruding from the wall rather than a conventional recessed light switch. Here a high stability is achieved even in the case of fine crystals.

It is particularly preferred that a simple design can be selected, in which a sensor plate is covered with a semitransparent membrane, the semitransparent membrane representing the user-operable surface and holes are provided in the sensor plate through the holes. that luminous means, such as LEDs located, if necessary, at a distance from the plate, illuminate the semi-transparent membrane or the glass disk from behind. This causes that a sufficiently diffuse, sufficiently large light spot can be formed on the membrane, which in the case of semi-transparent surfaces or semi-transparent surfaces, provided only at certain points, allows the symbols on the plate to be visualized with little effort. By providing different light means, for example multi-color LEDs intended to emit different colors, corresponding less opaque surfaces on the membrane can be illuminated in different colors.

It should be noted that it is known to use, for example, a keyboard for entering an access code, for example, the keyboard for entering a PIN in an ATM used to withdraw money. When entering a PIN, however, relatively long times are allowed before the ATM cancels a transaction. In the case of a gesture identification, the times during which the actuation is to be carried out are short. Usually and preferably, a gesture should not last more than one second in total and generally should take less time. Therefore, it is preferred that the controller identifies that all the actuation keys, associated with the gesture, were pressed in a time of less than 1 second, preferably less than 800 ms, in particular preferably less than 700 ms. The controller should preferably identify a gesture only at the end of this period of time. Otherwise, you must not interpret the actuation as a gesture, even if the key sequence is followed.

Also, a gesture covers one or more keys and the finger moves through an intermediate space between keys to the next key. In this sense, the time, during which the key must actually be pressed firmly enough to establish a contact, may vary from user to user, and / or the duration times of such actuations or the duration times between the Actuation of two different keys vary. For the identification of gestures, it can be advantageous for the controller not only to take into account the absolute sequence of the keyboards, but also the intervals between the various actuations. Although it is possible, for example, to observe the total time of one actuation of many keys one after the other and thus achieve an improved identification as a gesture, the controller also makes it possible to further determine whether the intervals between two key actions are almost the same or differ greatly.

The following example is for explanation only and is not limiting in terms of structural design: If all keys on a keyboard with relatively small keys, generally actuated individually, have the same width as the gaps between keys and keys. keys respond as soon as their edge is touched, a "glide motion" at a constant speed of movement of a finger across the keyboard provides a trigger pattern, in which a first key is actuated from t0 to t + A, that is, for a period of time A. Next, the finger is during the time t + A to t + 2A, that is, again for a period of time A, on an intermediate space, so that in this time a key is not operated. The finger is then at time t + 2A to t + 3A, that is, again for a period of time A, it moves the second key and operates it and then no key operation is performed from t + 3A to t + 4A, etc.

This can be detected. It should be mentioned that many keyboards have bounce protection. It may be advantageous to disable such key bounce protection or to use a keyboard without this type of protection, because in this way the duration of a key press can also be detected. Alternatively and / or additionally, the key can be queried regularly, for example by repeatedly querying whether a key is still depressed in order to determine the duration of actuation from this. Good temporal resolution is also obtained in the case of a "slow" query in the kHz range.

The duration time A in the above example is the same for a constant movement and it is now clear that not only the total time is preferably evaluated, but also the ratio of the duration times of the individual drives or no drives during this total time. From keyboard to keyboard and from key to key, different ratios or differences can otherwise be obtained with constant movement, because each individual keyboard does not respond immediately after touching the edge and / or width of a sensitive area of the keyboard can differ from the width of a gap between keys, etc. This can be taken into account by allowing tolerances in the identification of gestures.

The controller is then preferably configured to detect and evaluate the duration time of key operations and / or the duration time between key operations for the identification of gestures. In this sense, tolerances are preferably allowed, so that a drive is identified as a gesture, if the evaluation of the duration times provides a result within a tolerance range. This is not mandatory, but it helps significantly to better differentiate a gesture from a code.

It should be mentioned that a controller, configured to detect the duration time of a key actuation, is also particularly advantageous, because it allows to identify gestures also with a simple keyboard configuration, for example, if a simultaneous actuation of two keys is allowed of the actuation field, during which the user presses the keys almost simultaneously with two fingers, for example, the thumb and the index finger. If the actuation has in total a duration similar to a more or less rapid separation gesture or of the union of the thumb and index fingers, it can be assumed, taking into account the current operating conditions, that it is really such a separation gesture, although the gesture did not cover several keys. By referring in particular to a current operating state or current operating conditions of the keyboard it is possible to differentiate even if necessary between separation and bonding. Consequently, an identification of gestures is possible, without actually having to detect the gestures exactly with a high resolution by means of a display precise touch. Rather, it is possible to detect a plurality of different gestures, for example with a 2x2 keyboard featuring separate sensor fields with or without additional central sensors.

Although any PIN entry on a higher resolution keyboard or the like also requires the pressing of certain keys, the gesture is normally identified on a keyboard of this type by the actuation of several groups, for example, the top row of a keyboard, the second row of keyboard, etc. For the identification of gestures, it is then sufficient that the actuated keys are in a specific relationship to one another, without having to be specific keys.

It should also be mentioned that a particularly important gesture is the movement of separation. During a finger separation movement, two fingers, for example the thumb and forefinger, are positioned approximately in the center of the keyboard and then move in an outward direction, for example, diagonally, vertically or horizontally. During this movement of separation, the thumb and the index finger simultaneously actuate two keyboards, because at certain times, the two fingers act on this keyboard. On conventional keyboards, such as the numeric keypad used in ATMs to enter the PIN, only one key is considered actuated. On the other hand, here, the keyboard and / or the controller are preferably arranged in such a way that a simultaneous actuation of at least two keys is also allowed. It can be envisaged that a simultaneous actuation of two keys is allowed only, that is, only a suitable actuation is recognized, if a separation gesture or a joining gesture is identified, or one of the two can be assumed, taking into account the times. observed duration of the drive. In order to use a keyboard as a conventional numeric input field in such a case one can wait to see if and to what extent a gesture (separation) is identified along with the preceding key operations. If this is not the case, an evaluation of the double actuation will preferably be carried out, as usual, in such a way that the first key pressed is considered relevant and the second key, pressed almost simultaneously with the first key, is ignored.

It should be mentioned, moreover, that it is convenient to also allow, in addition to separation gestures, other double drives. Thus, for example, if a field with 5x5 keys or 7x7 keys is used for a dimmer, the upper 2x5 keys can be operated to increase the brightness and the lower 2x5 keys to reduce the brightness. If the actuation of one of these keys is detected, the brightness varies accordingly. By additionally allowing the simultaneous actuation of several keys in one of the defined 2x5 fields, it is possible to achieve that the brightness varies more quickly when several keys are pressed. This is also very advantageous when controlling the volume, for example, if the switching module is used as an intercom, the intercom volume must be reduced quickly so as not to interrupt a telephone call in progress. Consequently, the controller is preferably able to interpret double or multiple actuation differently depending on a momentary switching state.

If a separation gesture is identified, this can be advantageous precisely for the control of the domestic installation, in particular the lighting control, in order to "separate" the switch into a multiple switch for several individual light sources (for example , in a living-dining room, on a dining table, those near a sofa and those near a bookcase), for example, of a master switching function, in which all light sources in the space are operated simultaneously . The controller is then configured to in response to an exactly specified gesture, in particular a detach gesture, detach a switch, in particular from a master switch mode to an individual switch mode. Alternatively and / or additionally, several functions can be made accessible at the same time on the keyboard, such as venetian blinds, heating, ventilation, the adjustment of which can consist of reducing or increasing the temperature respectively. This is also true at points where only a low resolution keyboard is used, for example a 2x2 keyboard or a keyboard with the 2x2 layout + center sensor field.

From a constructive point of view, a keyboard according to the invention can be configured with a controller, which identifies movement gestures, by presenting it with a timer to measure the total duration of key operations that measures the duration times between actions of the keys. key and / or the duration times of individual key operations and relates the corresponding characteristic values to each other, usually count values, for example of cycles, a digital count value link stage is usually provided for this. Also present is a memory for storing patterns and a stage for comparing detected patterns with stored patterns.

It is clear that a touch keyboard for operation can have a different number of differentiable keys. With small keyboards, eg 3x3 or 3x4, only inaccurate identification of gestures is possible. However, keyboards with inaccurate resolution are also sufficient to differentiate a plurality of different gestures, if not only the spatial position of one or more fingers used for gesturing, but also the duration times and the temporal development of an actuation are evaluated. . On the other hand, too large a number of actuation fields requires too complex an evaluation. The keys are preferably arranged in rows and columns, preferably with 5 to 9 keys in a row and / or column. This allows a very secure identification of gestures, as well as the assignment of an LED or similar to each keyboard, in particular multicolored LEDs, and at the same time, however, a simple configuration of the controller.

It should be noted that in the case of the preferred use for a lighting control installation according to the invention, the controller can be integrated into the switching module or the light regulation module, present here, which also communicates with a central and / or detects a door state.

The keyboard itself can be immobile with respect to a base, such as a flush-mounted box, which allows for a firm arrangement in a flush-mounted box and reduces drive mechanics problems, which worsen over time.

It is advantageous to indicate to a user with simple means the effect that a determined next actuation will have. Status indicators are known for this purpose. A previously known switching module, in particular for lighting control, as described above, is known per se for state-dependent control of various state-dependent domestic technical installations with a status indicator and a switching controller indication status. In this sense, the document DE102012224396A1 cited at the beginning should be mentioned again.

In the present case, the inexpensive gesture identifier keyboard according to the invention can also be improved to optimally use the gesture identification.

For this purpose, it is preferred that several LEDs, preferably of different colors, are arranged on the keyboard. The keyboard can be configured in a transparent way and can be illuminated by the LEDs arranged behind it. Such LEDs can be provided in a different number and can be used differently, especially if the switch is used in various domestic technical installations, such as roller blinds, Venetian blinds, light, brightness, light color, heating, ventilation , air conditioning, door opening / door locking, alarm, etc. The LEDs, which illuminate the membrane or the glass disk of the keyboard from behind, can be arranged on one plate and can illuminate through the holes in another plate arranged between the membrane and the supporting plate of the ^l E ^d . This other intermediate plate can support the components required to implement the keyboard pressure sensitivity, etc.

First of all, it is possible to provide, for example, two strings of LEDs that vertically divide the keyboard into three column-type fields and illuminate it or, for example, also an LED that provides column-type illumination by means of a scattering arrangement. Additionally a group of LEDs may be present which horizontally divides the keyboard. These LEDs allow the keypad to be divided into up to six zones for simultaneous control of, for example, roller shutters, heating and ventilation.

Within the zones, in which the keyboard is subdivided, they can be energized in turn or LEDs can be present, for example, blue LEDs in the lower zone and red LEDs in the upper zone of the keyboard, thus indicating that the field Actuator can be used at the moment for a raise / lower control of heating or ventilation. With several LEDs positioned one above the other in a column, a status bar in a column can also be displayed to indicate how strongly a ventilation system is working, for example, to what level a heating system has been adjusted, etc. . The small number of LEDs or the like, preferably provided, may then be sufficient to roughly indicate whether a ventilation system is currently operating with high intensity, whether an air conditioning system is very cold or whether the heating system is set to a very high level. The same blue and red LEDs can be used in another situation to indicate, possibly intermittently, the presence of fire, smoke or the like, if necessary, by flashing the red LED, and the presence of possible intruders, possibly by means of LEDs. flashing blue.

This makes it possible to provide high functionality without an expensive screen and with a small number of individually controllable LEDs or other light media on an at least partially translucent touch surface. In particular, it is often preferred to assign an LED or other individually excitable light medium to each key on a keyboard. The or each LED can be a multi-color LED that can emit light in one of the many selectable colors, such as red, green, yellow or blue, and that illuminates, if necessary, through a only locally or partially transparent membrane.

Likewise, the icons permanently on the switch can be illuminated from behind and by means of which it is possible to indicate, if necessary, which function is currently assigned to a specific keyboard. These icons can be backlit optionally.

Given that the combination of different domestic technical installations, necessary in a space, can vary significantly, but not the installation units that are part, per se, of a domestic technical system and that have to respond by means of a control of this type, for example, roller blinds, venetian blinds, light, air, etc., a small number of icons is sufficient, which in turn means that the same switch can be used for practically all applications, with practically no changes in design and mechanics, and only have to be considered issues relating to the possibility of disinfection, resistance against chemicals, safety against explosion, etc.

It should also be mentioned that a speech synthesis or a query of predefined phrases for a current or upcoming actuation or as operational assistance can be provided, if necessary, in particular in the place where a loudspeaker is integrated. In this way, sufficient wearing comfort can be ensured, for example for people with low vision. For users, for whom even simple operation is not intuitive enough, an auxiliary drive system can be offered in this way. It should be mentioned that not only can a simple sound sequence be emitted as an indication of operation, error and alarm states, but also a signaling can be carried out by means of a voice output in clear text. This is useful in situations of danger experienced on rare occasions, especially if the type of danger and the place of danger are warned.

It would also be possible alternatively and / or additionally to provide an alternate display, for example with an LCD dot matrix. This also allows a function selection to be executed by "swiping" on the switch, in the same way as swiping on a smartphone to the next desired application. The movement can be executed until the desired icon lights up respectively. If the switch is subsequently used as a multi-switch, it is possible to select successively for each column to which column a function should be assigned. For this purpose, the corresponding icon can be selected using a repeated sliding movement.

Although it is also possible to divide a switch into different zones, such as left, right, up, down, by means of rocker switches, and considerable advantages can already be obtained here if all the lights have to be connected simultaneously (first functionality) or if Two or more different light sources have to be switched on or off by means of double keys in the first half of the rocker or, by means of a long press, an attenuation of the first and second light sources that varies the brightness cyclically from Gradually, however, very high functionality can be achieved by economically and permanently stable implementation of a switch module with a field of touch keys or touch surfaces.

Since in case of a very small resolution with, for example, 5x5 points, a large number of different gestures can be distinguished very well, such as separating the fingers, joining the fingers, pressing firmly on a given point , the separation slide in the vertical direction or the functionality change slide in the switch in the horizontal direction and it is possible to illuminate from behind respectively another icon with the slide on the switch, the user will easily identify the status, even if it has to be control only a small number of LEDs or rows of LEDs, for example about 10 to 40 LEDs. It should be mentioned that this can be implemented in a clearly cheaper way than in the case, for example, of an OLED or TFT-based touch screen.

If a switch module is configured for status signaling, this opens up other possibilities for increased functionality.

According to another aspect of the present invention it is proposed in this regard that the controller has in such a case an interface input for receiving an alarm status signal and is configured to indicate an alarm status with the status indicator. This allows an additional alarm function to be implemented with very little effort.

If, for example, red and blue LEDs are arranged at opposite ends of a rocker switch to indicate that subsequent actuation of the switch module raises or lowers a room temperature by controlling the heating or air conditioning system, the same LEDs, which they are permanently energized together as long as a temperature needs to be changed, they can be controlled intermittently separately to indicate, for example, a fire or smoke alarm, if necessary by flashing the red LED or all the red LEDs , or by a flashing blue light to indicate the presence of potential intruders. This makes it possible to provide high functionality without an expensive screen and with a small number of individually controllable LEDs or other light media on an at least partially translucent touch surface.

Although it is convenient to divide a switch into different zones, such as left, right, up, down, by means of rocker switches, and here considerable advantages can already be obtained to simultaneously connect all the lights (first functionality) or to connect or disconnect two sources of power. different light by means of double keys in the respective half of the rocker key or to achieve by pressing long-term dimming of the first and second light sources which varies the brightness cyclically gradually, however, a very high functionality can be achieved through the economical and permanently stable implementation of a switching module with a field of touch keys or touch surfaces. In this case, low resolution keyboards are sufficient to differentiate a plurality of different drives. It should be mentioned that the keyboards analyzed here are regularly configured with a smooth surface, that is, a surface, on which the fingers can move for the representation of gestures with a continuous movement, without the interference of elevations or depressions.

It should also be mentioned that an arrangement according to the invention can also have RFID transponders or other transponders for keyless opening of doors and / or authentication of persons and switching functions. In such a case, the RFID signals can be evaluated locally and / or transmitted to a central to generate certain functions here. It should be mentioned that a system based on the detection of an RFID identification can configure, if necessary, switches according to the preferences of a user and, that is, always in an automatic way when a specific user enters the space. Thus, for example, a number of users do not have the interest to adjust an air supply above a minimum threshold in an office, but they do want higher temperatures, so that the switch is configured, if necessary, to be able to Easily change the light and temperature on different switching surfaces, without affecting the ventilation. This can be done, for example, centrally, that is, by transmitting switch configuration signals from the central to the local switch. For another person, for example, the cleaning woman, it may be convenient to lower the temperature in the room, because this person has a physical job, and at the same time raise the venetian blinds to make it possible to clean the windows if necessary. This can be configured locally, as soon as the cleaning lady with the RFID transponder enters the room.

It is also particularly advantageous if the switching module or the light regulator is arranged in a flush-mounted box. To be able to mount it here, for example, behind existing light switches, existing terminals can be replaced, by means of which an electrical line is connected to the next light switch or a second lamp with a separate line has to be connected, in order to to create sufficient mounting space. For this purpose, the switching module preferably has double connections which are internally connected and make it possible to join lines. As a result of these measures, the terminals previously used in a flush-mounted box become obsolete, which creates such a large space in the flush-mounted box or in a conventional-sized plaster box behind the light switch that the conventional size used is sufficient. . Therefore, it is preferred that all connections, such as power supply, light switch / pushbutton, and lamp, are designed in a dual manner and in addition to phase. If desired, other terminal connections can also be provided for the neutral conductor or the earth connection.

Despite the very simple and therefore inexpensive configuration and installation, high functionality can be implemented.

Although operating a domestic technical installation with the aforementioned switching module offers particular advantages and this is considered innovative in itself, both with regard to the use of the status indicator for alarm purposes and also as a switching module with touch keyboard with a small number of differentiable touch points and a backlight with a small number of light sources, usually less than a hundred, which are individually controlled and some of which are used for the backlighting of predefined icons also, if necessary, fixedly, In what is also considered innovative, other control improvements are possible since it is possible, if necessary, to specifically predefine certain switching functions and / or programming functions by means of other devices.

Therefore, it is particularly preferred to provide a software-based appliance control, in which a plurality of different domestic technical appliances are controlled or configured by using a central unit with a programmable mobile user terminal, in particular a telephone. smart.

In this sense, it is possible to take advantage of the fact that smartphones are capable, on the one hand, of representing high-resolution information for the user that facilitates the programming of an installation, such as tables, diagrams, etc., and, for on the other hand, communication via a plurality of interfaces, such as UMTS, Wlan and Bluetooth, is alternatively possible.

It is often desired not to have to frequently resort to expensive programmable mobile user terminals for control, because convenience of use is often considered superior if a conventional switch can be used next to a room entrance or the like.

However, the use of such smartphones for software-based control is not entirely trivial.

Thus, for example, a problem is that an easy use for a large number of users of programmable mobile user terminals requires that different smartphones can be used in the same way, even if the smartphones differ from each other. by operating system, resolution, etc. Although in principle it would be possible to provide for each smartphone model its own program, which allows software-based control of technical domestic appliances, the cost in this regard would generally be prohibitive. To this must be added that a smartphone is capable of broadband communication, but often the remote station of the device control and in particular the connection to the central unit do not allow large bandwidths. This is particularly valid in places where a local switch module communicates via a two-wire line with a central unit or the switch module itself represents a central unit and where a central unit is not to be opened via Internet or Wlan for communication or other connections are preferred etc.

Therefore, it is desired to also enable the use of programmable mobile user terminals if different programmable mobile user terminals are to be contacted. In this connection, it is particularly preferred to make possible the same use to a large extent if different programmable mobile user terminals are used.

In another aspect, which is advantageous for implementation with the other aspects or another aspect of the invention, as described above, but which can be patented, however, individually and independently thereof, the invention proposes in this regard that in a method for software-based appliance control, in which a plurality of different appliances are controlled by using a central unit in accordance with the parameters of different programmable mobile user terminals communicating with the central unit, is Provided a procedure execution such that a virtual screen based on a control software is formed in the central unit, the content of the virtual screen or the instructions for configuring the screen display are transmitted to the mobile user terminal, the content of the virtual screen is displayed on the mobile user terminal, a user input is detected with the mobile user terminal and the respective signals are transmitted to the central unit for control specification.

The invention according to this aspect has several significant advantages. On the one hand, no great effort is required to enable operation with different mobile user terminals in a central unit, regardless of the operating system, etc. Also, the connection is easy, because only narrowband connections are needed to the central station. For example, a smartphone can be accessed locally via a short-range interface with a slow data connection to the central station, for example, a Bluetooth interface on a switch module which then transmits the digital signals to the unit. central by means of a line of the alternating lighting network. This is also advantageous, because the local switching module, by means of which the mobile user terminal currently has access to the central unit, can then be evaluated, which makes it possible to deduce the position of the user. This is advantageous precisely in buildings, in which a plurality of spaces are equipped with the technique according to the invention and / or in which a plurality of users wish to access the system.

Also, a software update is non-critical. This is valid both for an update of the software of the central station for the control of the domestic installation, because here, in spite of this type of changes, only a configuration of the virtual screens should be possible. An update, for example, of the smartphone's operating system, is completely non-critical, because a change is usually not made to the graphical interface, so that such changes have practically no effect. The upgrade effort is therefore extremely small.

The creation of virtual screens in the central unit and the transmission of only this content or the instructions required to configure the screen display, for example, in OpenGl, avoids the need to provide individual complex software programs for a plurality of smartphones different or similar. In a simple way, it is possible to use smartphones, etc. The transmission of the virtual screen setting instructions can be done with a small bandwidth, since the usual screen displays can be compressed very well, even if the screen setting instructions which are essentially more favorable in relative to the total amount of data. This makes it possible to connect the programmable mobile user terminals to the central unit by comparatively slow lines, between which there is a line, in which the at least one partial line section is formed by a two-wire data communication line that it is modulated to a power supply, if from a certain point Bluetooth connections or Wlan connections are provided. It should be mentioned that such two-wire lines here enable this type of easily usable communication and allow without problems an implementation on two-wire lines of the lighting network.

As domestic technical appliances, which can be used for the software-based appliance control procedure, roller blinds, light, light color, brightness, color, are to be mentioned again. temperature, ventilation, door opening, communication with a remote station, etc. It should be mentioned that individual functions can be predefined separately, for example a currently desired fan speed, but that additionally or alternatively a system can be configured, for example, by specifying operational parameters to be stored in a control panel. device for the switch response in response to different closing states at different times of the week and / or day. Therefore, the method for software-based apparatus control of the present invention is particularly preferred for configuration purposes.

It should also be mentioned that in highly complex installations, for example, in large office buildings, it is possible for several users to access a central unit at the same time and that there is a virtual screen configured for each mobile user terminal. programmable, preferably sized specifically for the screen on the programmable mobile user terminal.

Otherwise, it is possible to perform a local pre-evaluation of gestures and the like, which also reduces the data load on the connection between the central unit and the mobile user terminal.

If the content of a virtual screen is transmitted in a compressed way for a programmable mobile user terminal, a compression known per se, such as JPG compression, can be used, differential compression being possible, that is, it is only necessary to transmit, given the case, differences with respect to the preceding images. It is possible, if necessary, a compression as in the known standards for video transmission. For example, refer to the MPEG standard. The programming effort required in this regard is even extremely small and practically no specific program adaptation of the user terminal is required. It should be mentioned that user input is usually carried out in the form of menu control, that is, in particularly preferred variants, the content of the virtual screen represents a program menu or represents it at least temporarily to select a drive or setting. determined. It should also be mentioned that precisely in places, where a gesture-based control is performed, as is usual in smartphones and the like, a gesture pre-evaluation can be made in the programmable mobile user terminal.

It should also be noted that certain functions, for example a zoom function, can optionally be executed on the programmable mobile user terminal, which is advantageous precisely in the transmission of display setting instructions based on a vector graphic.

From the above it is clear that it is advantageous for programmable mobile user terminals to have a touch screen.

In the particularly preferred embodiment of the invention with its partial aspects a simple system is then possible, in which a connection of signals from a door to a gesture-controlled light switch or dimmer is provided which is in turn connected to a central via a power line and easily connected to a smartphone, generally allowing for improved applications in a simple way.

The invention is described below by way of example only by means of the drawings. They show:

Fig. 1 diagram of a lighting control, according to the invention, which according to a preferred method can operate in a software-controlled manner by means of different mobile user terminals;

Fig. 2 and 3 a keyboard and diagrams to explain the identification of gestures thereon;

Fig. 4 a simple keyboard with few keyboards for gesture control in a general cloverleaf arrangement;

Fig. 5 an example of common gestures that can be identified with this keyboard, the field or fields in which a gesture should begin with an “x” and a dwell time a little longer than one finger being indicated over a field by corresponding interlaced lines or in the form of a “squiggle”, without actually expecting a movement;

FIG. 6 An exemplary layout of the simple sensor field of FIG. 4.

Figure 1 shows a lighting control, according to the invention, for a building with a switch module which, as indicated below left in the figure, is arranged next to a door and connected to the lighting network for controlling the lighting depending on the actuation of the switch, the switching module presenting an interface for a door sensor, in particular an analog interface, for detecting the door state and being configured to control the lighting depending on the door state. In this sense, it should be mentioned that preferably all the switching modules present this configuration with an analog interface for a door sensor, although this appears represented only for a door sensor.

The switch modules M. switch ... M. can be configured to control the lighting depending on the door status and are connected, on the one hand, to a central unit SERVER by means of a two-wire line, implemented by the lighting network, which here allows a rate of 9600 baud data, and on the other hand present an air interface, eg a Bluetooth interface, for various mobile user terminals APP1 ... APP3. In this case, the mobile user terminals are touch screen smart phones.

The switching modules can exchange information among themselves and with the central unit via the two-wire line, in particular about the closed state of the assigned door, detected by the respective analog interface. They can also transmit and / or receive alarm signals to eventually generate a local alarm response.

The switch modules are integrated into flush-mounted boxes and transmit current in a dimmed manner to points of light. These have, as far as possible and preferably, actuation surfaces in the form of keyboards that can identify gestures and can output status signals in a way that is described below. This arrangement is configured as follows:

First of all, a mobile user terminal is connected to a switch module, eg Appl with Switch Module! The switching module then communicates this to the central unit SERVER so that the use of the mobile user terminal is activated from here. For this purpose, a virtual screen based on control software is created in the central unit with a size available in the mobile user terminal and the content of the virtual screen is transmitted to the mobile user terminal. This screen usually allows for menu driven configuration. The mobile user terminal displays this screen content and detects the inputs that a user then makes. Such input signal or such evaluated input signals are forwarded to the central unit, which thus obtains information on the configuration desired by the user and can take them into account for a response, depending on the configuration, to subsequent actuations of the communication module and / or changes of state, etc. In particular, a switch module or other appliance can also be immediately configured by the server and / or a configuration of the switch module via the server can be transmitted from the server to the switch module or other appliance only after completion of the login. user terminal. User input continues until setup is complete. The connection to the operator terminal can then be terminated and the switch module or other devices can be configured by the server, as required, and used subsequently.

The switching module is usually assigned an actuation keyboard designed in this case from a membrane keyboard, as shown above right in figure 2. This membrane keyboard is transparent, it is illuminated from behind by LEDs (not shown) and is configured to facilitate gesture identification such that the corresponding key controller, which may otherwise be part of the switch module, can detect the duration of a key press and simultaneously allow the key press multi-key. No kickback protection is provided. In the present example shown, a 5x5 field is used in this regard, which has 5 keys in each row and each column respectively. With this field you can identify the gestures a, bc that are executed on keys 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, placed in a row next to each other, when executing a separation movement of thumb and forefinger a or a movement sliding movement b with one finger from right to left or sliding movement c with one finger from left to right, when analyzing the on / off times represented in the time diagrams. It can be seen that during the separation movement, for example, the central keys 3 and 4 are actuated simultaneously and then, after a short interval without actuation, the keys 2 + 5 are actuated together. Since the keyboard has an odd number of keys per row, only the 1 key is actuated after another pause.

This pattern can be successfully detected with a controller and regardless of whether it is generated in the top row or another row of the keyboard. This is also true for patterns b and c.

Figure 3 shows that the patterns have, depending on the speed of the sliding movement, pulses a little closer in time for the individual keys or pulses a little further apart. This can also be taken into account when identifying gestures. Figure 4 shows a very simple keyboard layout. In this case, only four fields of equal size are arranged in a square, the adjacent fields being separated from each other respectively by a narrow surface. In the center of the fields a round central sensor surface is provided which is delimited relative to the four surrounding sensor fields by a narrow dividing line that surrounds it in the form of a ring.

The keyboard layout can be configured as follows, see figure 6: Starting from the operating side downwards, first a membrane or a glass disc 6-1 is provided, then a plate of sensor 6-2, essentially without components, on the side facing such a membrane or glass disc and below, a plate 6-3 that supports an LED.

The glass disk or membrane 6-1 has been coated in a very opaque manner relative to the sensor plate, with less opaque coating patterns being integrated into the coating to be able to represent certain symbols, such as arrows and the like. This is indicated by the triangles in the corners and the linearly arranged dots in each of the largest sensor fields.

The sensor board is only minimally provided on the side facing the membrane or the glass disk with those elements, such as printed circuits, etc., which are directly needed to define and configure the touch keyboard. Furthermore, the sensor board is provided, among other things, with the components required for the evaluation only on the side opposite the glass disc or the membrane. Here too, as indicated in the figure, are provided the components 6-4 with a construction height such that a flatness of the membrane or of the glass disk would be affected in the pressed state.

Through holes are also provided in the sensor plate, specifically at those points, above which the least opaque points have been integrated into the coating of the glass disk or of the membrane to achieve the coating pattern, that is, for example, the triangle, see 4-2a, 4-2b, 4-2c and 4-2c or the line points 4-3a through 4-3d.

When the sensor areas are illuminated, the least opaque spots on the coating of the glass disk or membrane are illuminated. For this purpose, light means, such as LEDs, are arranged below the through holes in the sensor plate on the LED carrier plate, which illuminate the cladding through the through holes of the sensor plate. The LEDs can be controlled via the sensor board and for this purpose the LED carrier board and the sensor board are connected accordingly.

In this way, a high-quality display can be implemented with very simple means, which can indicate a large amount of information, in particular when using multi-colored LEDs as luminous means on the second plate arranged below the sensor plate, without affecting the at the same time a large part of the sensor surface, which allows high sensitivity and easy use.

With such a sensor field, a plurality of different gestures can be distinguished, if the duration of the actuation of the individual fields is detected, see figure 5. The X next to a field here indicates the start of a movement and prolonged positioning. of a finger on a field is represented by a longer interlaced line in this field.

It is then possible to identify, for example, diagonal sliding movements, as in the case of the top row of FIG. 5, by means of which, for example, a function can be switched off or to go back to a basic state. You can identify U-shaped movements that take place on the 4 sensor fields or on just a pair of sensors (not shown). According to figure 5, second row to the left, the U can also be positioned upside down. Movements of this type can be used, for example, to control the raising and lowering of roller blinds.

Also, an individual field can be touched for a longer time to turn a light on or off, see bottom row, right.

The drive in the center, see middle row on the right, can also be detected separately, for example to trigger an alarm.

A circular movement clockwise (center, middle row of figure 5) or counter-clockwise beyond the 4 outer fields can be interpreted as an operation to raise or lower the heating and a corresponding adaptation of the ambient temperature can be carried out. It is also possible to simultaneously indicate, for example, by sliding from left to right on the upper and lower keys, see bottom row on the left, that the sensor field must be divided to activate a light, for example, in half left, and a second light in the left half of the window, see bottom row in center.

It should be mentioned that a current operating state or current functionality of the switch can be indicated by driving the appropriate LEDs and the instructions identified for the domestic technical installation can be evaluated and implemented, as described above. For this purpose, the sensor board supports the corresponding interfaces.

It should also be mentioned that for the identification of the gestures described it is only necessary to evaluate with a controller which keyboards were operated individually or jointly and for what time. Therefore, with a simple keyboard and only a small load of a controller it will be possible to also differentiate a large number of gestures.

Previously described a lighting control for a building with a switch module arranged next to a door and connected to the lighting network to control the lighting in dependence on the actuation of the switch, in which it is provided that the switch module has a interface for a door sensor, preferably an analog interface, to detect door status and is configured to control lighting depending on door status.

Such lighting control was also described above, in which it is also provided that the switching module has an interface, in particular an analog interface, for a door sensor of the group consisting of a locking and / or locking / unlocking sensor, sensor closed state, door movement sensor, door handle actuation sensor, door passage light barrier.

Such lighting control was also described previously, in which it is also provided that the switching module is configured to detect in a differentiated way its actuation mode, preferably to differentiate at least two of the group consisting of: short press, long press, pulse Repeated lack of actuation, particularly for a specified time or time interval with a specified duration, firm / gentle pressure, gestures.

Such a lighting control was also described above, in which a memory is also provided, in which for a series of distinguishable door states detected with the at least one sensor, responses of the lighting control to different switch actuations are stored, such that, for at least one identified switch actuation, in a first state a response of the lighting control different from that of the same switch actuation is stored in a second door state, different from the first door state, preferably being at least one stored response an alarm response or a possible alarm deactivation at least within a limited period of time.

Such lighting control was also described above, in which it is also provided to store in memory the data received from a central unit defining a nominal response of the switching module in response to at least a given door state, a state change door number and / or its drive mode, preferably a nominal response which also depends on the development of communication or the possibility of communication with the central unit and / or which is configured to transmit data to the central unit. A lighting control for a building was also described above, in which it is provided that the communication module for communication with the central unit has a data interface for data transmission via the lighting network with a transmission frequency of data higher than that of the alternating frequency of luminous flux and is preferably configured for the transmission of encrypted data.

A lighting control was also described above, in which it is additionally provided that the switching module is also configured to, in addition to the on / off control of a single light source, also regulate the brightness of at least one light source and / or control at least one and preferably several of the following elements: intercom, sound, in particular a sound recorded in an intercom and / or a voice intended to provide assistance, doorbell, alarm tone, various light sources environment of a group, either individually or jointly, depending on the status, and / or LEDs or other lighting means that are present in the switching module to activate, if necessary, an alarm, as already discussed, also in a successive sequence and in particular, for example, in the sequence mentioned and which are available in particular successively in different colors and / or intermittently, systems of v Video, various ambient light sources, preferably all light sources at a visible point, more preferably all light sources in a house, alarm tone, remote alarm activation.

A particular configured switching module was also described previously, as mentioned before, for state-dependent various control of various state-dependent domestic technical installations with a status indicator and a controller that changes the display state, in which is provided for the controller to present an interface input in order to receive a signal indicative of an alarm condition and is configured to indicate an alarm condition with the status indicator in response.

Previously also described a method for software-based appliance control, in which a plurality of different appliances is controlled by using a central unit according to the specifications of different programmable mobile user terminals, which communicate in case necessary with the central unit, in which it is foreseen that a virtual screen based on a control software, virtual screen content or screen display setup instructions are transmitted to a mobile user terminal, virtual screen content is displayed on the mobile user terminal, user input is detected with the mobile user terminal and the respective signals are transmitted to the central unit for specification of the control.

A method for updating a software for software-based appliance control was also described above, in which a plurality of different appliances is controlled by using a central unit according to the specifications of different programmable mobile user terminals. , which communicate if necessary with the central unit, and wherein a virtual screen based on control software is created in the central unit, the content of the virtual screen or the on-screen display setup instructions are transmitted to a mobile user terminal, the content of the virtual screen is displayed on the mobile user terminal, a user input is detected with the mobile user terminal when the virtual screen is displayed, and the respective signals are transmitted to the central unit for specification of the control, in which it is foreseen that only in the central unit an update is carried out valid simultaneously for all programmable mobile user terminals.

A keyboard with a plurality of actuation keys and a controller for the response to the actuation of the keys was also described above, wherein it is provided that the controller is configured to identify whether actuation keys were actuated very closely in a certain sequence, whether the actuation keys operated in this way belong to a predefined group and to change the future response to a key actuation in response to the identification.

A keyboard was also described above, in which it is provided that the controller is configured to identify a gesture only as such, if all the corresponding keys are pressed in a period of time less than 1 second, preferably less than 800 ms, in particular preferably less than 700 ms.

A keyboard was also described previously, in which it is also provided that the controller is configured in order to also evaluate the existing intervals between the different actuations for the identification of gestures.

A keyboard was also described above, in which it is also provided that the controller is configured to identify a gesture, if the intervals between two key operations and / or the duration times of two key operations are almost the same or differ greatly. measure, and to compare several pairs of determined duration times.

Claims (14)

1. Building lighting control with a switch module that can be arranged next to a door, which can be connected to the lighting network to control the lighting depending on the actuation of the switch, presents an interface for a door sensor to detect a door state and is configured to differentiate different drive modes, and control the lighting depending on the door state, characterized in that a memory is present, in which lighting control responses to different switch actuation modes are stored for a series of differentiable door states, detected with the at least one sensor, being stored, for at least one identified switch actuation mode, a lighting control response that is different, in a first door state, from the response in a second door state. Building lighting control according to the preceding claim, in which the switching module is configured to differentiate at least two actuation modes of the group comprising a short press, a long press, a repeated press, the lack of a drive for a specified time, the lack of a drive beyond a time interval with a specified duration, firm / gentle pressure, gestures. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the switching module has an interface, in particular an analog interface, for a door sensor of the group consisting of a lock sensor and / or a door sensor. interlocking / unlocking, closed state sensor, door movement sensor, door handle actuation sensor, door passage light barrier. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the switching module is also configured not only to switch on / off a single light source, but also to reproduce a doorbell sound, a alarm sound, a sound recorded in an intercom and / or a voice intended to provide assistance, and / or to dim the brightness of at least one light source and / or individually or jointly control several ambient light sources of a group in dependence on the state and / or actuate various domestic technical installations that comprise, in addition to light, at least one element of the group consisting of roller blinds, venetian blinds, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, door opening / door locking, and / or to control an alarm activation remotely and / or to control LEDs or other luminous means present in the switch module to activate the alarm. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a response stored in the memory is an alarm response or an alarm deactivation permitted at least temporarily. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one response stored in memory is a lighting control response causing an intruder to escape. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is configured to detect the state of an entrance door to a house. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is configured to evaluate the door status not only of the door in which the switching module is arranged, but to detect the status of many doors , preferably in such a way that the states of several doors can be evaluated and / or a false alarm can be avoided by evaluating the time sequence of state changes of several doors. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is configured to indicate how long ago a burglary occurred, preferably by means of flashing times of different duration, the excitation of a different number of LEDs in the switch and / or indication of determined patterns via individual LEDs. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, in which the switching module is configured to establish communication with the outside, in particular via a GSM module, a UMTS module and / or an Internet connection established, if necessary, only when an alarm occurs, and / or start the visualization of video transmissions in alarm centers of surveillance services and / or in personal computers operated momentarily in a local network. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lighting control can be configured depending on the door status. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the switching module has a Bluetooth interface for communication with mobile user terminals. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the switching module has an RFID transponder or other transponders and is configured for the authentication of persons and / or the setting of user preferences when a user determined enters space. Building lighting control according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is configured to determine by means of a switch actuation a future response to a subsequent detection of the door status, preferably to determine the switching on or off of the door. light in response to a subsequent detection of the door state.